Solongasthewoman’splaceisconsistentlythatofadrudge，sheis，intheaverageofcases，fairlycontentedwithherlot。Shenotonlyhassomethingtangibleandpurposefultodo，butshehasalsonotimeorthoughttospareforarebelliousassertionofsuchhumanpropensitytoself-directionasshehasinherited。Andafterthestageofuniversalfemaledrudgeryispassed，andavicariousleisurewithoutstrenuousapplicationbecomestheaccreditedemploymentofthewomenofthewell-to-doclasses，theprescriptiveforceofthecanonofpecuniarydecency，whichrequirestheobservanceofceremonialfutilityontheirpart，willlongpreservehigh-mindedwomenfromanysentimentalleaningtoself-directionanda“sphereofusefulness。“Thisisespeciallytrueduringtheearlierphasesofthepecuniaryculture，whiletheleisureoftheleisureclassisstillingreatmeasureapredatoryactivity，anactiveassertionofmasteryinwhichthereisenoughoftangiblepurposeofaninvidiouskindtoadmitofitsbeingtakenseriouslyasanemploymenttowhichonemaywithoutshameputone’shand。Thisconditionofthingshasobviouslylastedwelldownintothepresentinsomecommunities。Itcontinuestoholdtoadifferentextentfordifferentindividuals，varyingwiththevividnessofthesenseofstatusandwiththefeeblenessoftheimpulsetoworkmanshipwithwhichtheindividualisendowed。Butwheretheeconomicstructureofthecommunityhassofaroutgrowntheschemeoflifebasedonstatusthattherelationofpersonalsubservienceisnolongerfelttobethesole“natural“humanrelation；theretheancienthabitofpurposefulactivitywillbegintoassertitselfinthelessconformableindividualsagainstthemorerecent，relativelysuperficial，relativelyephemeralhabitsandviewswhichthepredatoryandthepecuniaryculturehavecontributedtoourschemeoflife。Thesehabitsandviewsbegintolosetheircoerciveforceforthecommunityortheclassinquestionsosoonasthehabitofmindandtheviewsoflifeduetothepredatoryandthequasi-peaceabledisciplineceasetobeinfairlycloseaccordwiththelater-developedeconomicsituation。Thisisevidentinthecaseoftheindustriousclassesofmoderncommunities；forthemtheleisure-classschemeoflifehaslostmuchofitsbindingforce，especiallyasregardstheelementofstatus。Butitisalsovisiblybeingverifiedinthecaseoftheupperclasses，thoughnotinthesamemanner。
Thehabitsderivedfromthepredatoryandquasi-peaceableculturearerelativelyephemeralvariantsofcertainunderlyingpropensitiesandmentalcharacteristicsoftherace；whichitowestotheprotracteddisciplineoftheearlier，proto-anthropoidculturalstageofpeaceable，relativelyundifferentiatedeconomiclifecarriedonincontactwitharelativelysimpleandinvariablematerialenvironment。Whenthehabitssuperinducedbytheemulativemethodoflifehaveceasedtoenjoythesectionofexistingeconomicexigencies，aprocessofdisintegrationsetsinwherebythehabitsofthoughtofmorerecentgrowthandofalessgenericcharactertosomeextentyieldthegroundbeforethemoreancientandmorepervadingspiritualcharacteristicsoftherace。
Inasense，then，thenew-womanmovementmarksareversiontoamoregenerictypeofhumancharacter，ortoalessdifferentiatedexpressionofhumannature。Itisatypeofhumannaturewhichistobecharacterizedasproto-anthropoid，and，asregardsthesubstanceifnottheformofitsdominanttraits，itbelongstoaculturalstagethatmaybeclassedaspossiblysub-human。Theparticularmovementorevolutionalfeatureinquestionofcoursesharesthischaracterizationwiththerestofthelatersocialdevelopment，insofarasthissocialdevelopmentshowsevidenceofareversiontothespiritualattitudethatcharacterizestheearlier，undifferentiatedstageofeconomicrevolution。Suchevidenceofageneraltendencytoreversionfromthedominanceoftheinvidiousinterestisnotentirelywanting，althoughitisneitherplentifulnorunquestionablyconvincing。Thegeneraldecayofthesenseofstatusinmodernindustrialcommunitiesgoessomewayasevidenceinthisdirection；andtheperceptiblereturntoadisapprovaloffutilityinhumanlife，andadisapprovalofsuchactivitiesasserveonlytheindividualgainatthecostofthecollectivityoratthecostofothersocialgroups，isevidencetoalikeeffect。
Thereisaperceptibletendencytodeprecatetheinflictionofpain，aswellastodiscreditallmaraudingenterprises，evenwheretheseexpressionsoftheinvidiousinterestdonottangiblyworktothematerialdetrimentofthecommunityoroftheindividualwhopassesanopiniononthem。Itmayevenbesaidthatinthemodernindustrialcommunitiestheaverage，dispassionatesenseofmensaysthattheidealcharacterisacharacterwhichmakesforpeace，good-will，andeconomicefficiency，ratherthanforalifeofself-seeking，force，fraud，andmastery。
Theinfluenceoftheleisureclassisnotconsistentlyfororagainsttherehabilitationofthisproto-anthropoidhumannature。Sofarasconcernsthechanceofsurvivalofindividualsendowedwithanexceptionallylargeshareoftheprimitivetraits，theshelteredpositionoftheclassfavorsitsmembersdirectlybywithdrawingthemfromthepecuniarystruggle；butindirectly，throughtheleisure-classcanonsofconspicuouswasteofgoodsandeffort，theinstitutionofaleisureclasslessensthechanceofsurvivalofsuchindividualsintheentirebodyofthepopulation。Thedecentrequirementsofwasteabsorbthesurplusenergyofthepopulationinaninvidiousstruggleandleavenomarginforthenon-invidiousexpressionoflife。Theremoter，lesstangible，spiritualeffectsofthedisciplineofdecencygointhesamedirectionandworkperhapsmoreeffectuallytothesameend。Thecanonsofdecentlifeareanelaborationoftheprincipleofinvidiouscomparison，andtheyaccordinglyactconsistentlytoinhibitallnon-invidiouseffortandtoinculcatetheself-regardingattitude。